Stock Futures Fall as Obama Summons Leaders to 'Fiscal Cliff' Meeting

The president and lawmakers must hammer out a deal before a Dec. 31 deadline.

Parris Kellermann

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures fell before President Obama meets with House and Senate leaders to come up with a plan to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.

Obama has three days to hammer out a plan with lawmakers before the country goes off the cliff, meaning taxes will rise and spending will be cut, a combination that could sink the economy. He will meet with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each declined by only 0.1% Thursday after suffering losses of more than 1% earlier in the day, when Reid said Republicans are stalling in finding a solution. Stocks rebounded after Republicans said they're prepared to work over the weekend to meet the Dec. 31 fiscal-cliff deadline.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he will do all he can to create a cushion for lawmakers. After the stock market closed Wednesday, he said in a letter to Reid that the federal government will reach its $16.394 trillion statutory debt limit on Dec. 31.

Geithner said the Treasury is planning "extraordinary measures" to postpone defaulting on $200 billion in bond payments and create some "headroom" for Washington beyond New Year's Day.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 61 points to 12,942 as of 8:06 a.m. New York time.